WM 2010!

Hey everybody, sorry that I haven't written in a while! The world cup is in full-swing and I have been busy with all the games. Germany has played three times already, 2 wins and a loss in the group, but they finished first in the group. Now it's on to England in the knock-out phase on Sunday! The first game I really watched was the USA against England, though, in a Biergarten in Schoeneberg/Kreuzberg. It was fun, but it seemed like all the non-Americans were cheering for England, maybe so they wouldn't have to play them in the knock-out round. The next day I watched the German game in a bar across from the Biergarten. Germany won 4-0 against Australia and the next day all of Berlin was in euphoria. Everyone was talking about what the Spanish or English press were saying about Germany's team and it seemed like we were already in the quarter finals. There was even an "Autokurs" were all the cars drive down Kurfuerstendamm and honk their horns. The next game was a disappointment for both the USA and Germany. The USA should have won, but only tied 2-2 because the ref didn't count a fair goal. Germany lost with only 10 men against Serbia's 11, even though Germany was the better team. Klose got a yellow-red, but Podolski missed some great chances, including a penalty kick. The next games were USA vs. Algeria and Germany vs. Ghana in the same day. Both had to win to advance. First was the US, the game wasn't shown in Germany, but I saw England vs. Slovakia. I knew the score of the US game though and just as the England game was over and I had given up hope, I heard "TOOOORRRR" and they switched to the US game. I was terrified that Algeria might have scored, but then I saw the whole US team celebrating. Afterwards, I went to watch the Germany-Ghana game with my roommates. We went to a kids' circus and watched in the tent, it was pretty cool. One of their friends is the coordinator of the circus. We grilled outside before and I ate half a steak, 3 Nuernberger Bratwursts and 2 Rostbratwuerstchen and the best tuna fish salad I've ever had. The game was tough, because Ghana played the same game as Serbia and jammed the middle of the defense. Germany had a tough time passing their way through, but eventually Mesut Oezil had a beautiful goal from just outside the penalty box. The Germans are excited to play England, which kind of surprises me, because the US would be easier, but I'm happy that the only scenario where they play each other is the final!

I also have been doing more sightseeing the past days and I saw the Museum Island, Alexanderplatz and Potsdam. I've seen Alexanderplatz before, but this time I went into the Fernsehturm and saw all of Berlin from the top! The Museum Island was awesome and I saw the Bode Museum, the Altes Museum, the Pergamum Museum and the Altes Nationalgalerie. The Altes Museum had a lot of Greek/Roman things, primarily vases, some of which I recognized from the Latin books from high school! The Bode Museum had a lot of art, the Pergamum Museum had a bunch of huge things from ancient times and was the most amazing muesum I've ever been in. There is the Ishtar Gate, the Pergamum Altar and a bunch of other huge things that look tiny in comparison and are therefore impossible to fully appreciate. The Altes Nationalgalerie had a lot of German art, but I couldn't see much of it, because I only had half an hour left. I was a little disappointed, but I'm happy I was able to see the Pergamum Museum before. Potsdam was really cool as well and I was able to see Schloss Sansoucci, which was kind of like the Versailles of the Prussian kings. It was pretty cool and Potsdam has a lot of other castles too, like Schloss Cecillienhof, where the Allies divided Europe after WW2. Unfortunately I don't have the time right now to upload pcitures, but I'll edit this tomorrow.

My dad is here this weekend and we plan on doing even more things. I took a Spree boat tour today and was able to see a lot of the city from the river. We will probably take a bus tour tomorrow and see the USA-Ghana game. I'm not sure what we'll do on Sunday, but we might watch the Germany-England game in Public Viewing, which has enough room for 500,000 people! It's in Tiergarten in front of the Siegessaeule, which is to commemorate the victory over France in the 7-years war.